


In which Trelawney gets a headache

by Overlord_Bethany



Series: unreliable narrators [15]
Category: Girl Genius (Webcomic)
Genre: Gen, Mid-Canon, this scene will not be paired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:15:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22460977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Overlord_Bethany/pseuds/Overlord_Bethany
Summary: Talking to the Baron is not without its hazards.
Series: unreliable narrators [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/930879
Comments: 8
Kudos: 41





	In which Trelawney gets a headache

_You will do nicely._

Trelawney Thorpe eyed the Baron with deep distrust. Gil deserved better than this, of that she had very little doubt. Still, orders were orders, no matter how distasteful she found them. In this case, colluding with the Baron in order to further Her Majesty’s interests made Trelawney feel a little like she had eaten live squid—queasy and a little squirmy inside. In all of the Baron’s great concern for Gil, he never seemed to stop and ask what was actually _good_ for him, did he?

Trelawney sighed.

“Right,” she said, “what about Prince Sturmvoraus?”

The Baron’s frown deepened. If Gil was really unlucky, the lines would set like that. “What about—oh, I see. Yes, if he and the Heterodyne girl oppose the Empire together—”

One hand pressed to her face to keep her left eye from twitching, Trelawney held up her other hand to stop that sentence before its wrongheaded conclusion. “No, I mean what about Prince Sturmvoraus _and your son?”_

In all her life, Trelawney Thorpe had never thought to see the Baron baffled. He tilted his head, he slid his jaw to one side, and he said slowly, “They were friends. A very long time ago.” He scratched his chin. “Prince Sturmvoraus gave me the impression that he may be interested in rebuilding their friendship now, though I don’t know if that would be helpful at all.”

Trelawney suppressed a snort. The Baron was attached to Gil’s brain. Surely he must have noticed how those two idiots flirted almost constantly with each other? “Oh, they’re definitely friends.” Friends who contrive flimsy excuses to touch one another, to get in each other’s personal space. And Gil had clearly not noticed the way Tarvek looked at him sometimes, as though everything good in the world stemmed directly from him. But the Baron didn’t know? Really? How had Gil kept it from him?

“Herr Baron,” she said, trying to construct her sentence in the least jarring way possible, “I think Prince Sturmvoraus intends to remain, ah, _attached_ to your son.”

“In what regard?”

Trelawney wanted to give him a condescending pat on the arm and tell him that a great mind such as his would surely figure it out. Either that, or find Hawkins and contract her to explain matters in exquisite detail. She did neither. Instead, she raised one eyebrow. The Baron’s frown managed to deepen into a craggy scowl that looked distinctly wrong on Gil’s face.

“The betrothal?” he said. “That was a joke.”

Trelawney’s breath sputtered out of her in a laugh. “The _what?_ They’re _betrothed?_ Oh…” She wiped tears of mirth from her eyes. “Oh, Albia preserve us, are they really?”

“No,” said the Baron in a voice that would brook no argument. “They are not.”

With great effort and a few strained giggles, Trelawney composed herself. “Of course not.” Of course they were. That made so much sense. That was that Gil hadn’t wanted them to tell her in the corridor.

But…

But that opened up new possibilities for her, new ways for her to follow Her Majesty’s wishes. Trelawney gave the Baron a placating smile, and he seemed satisfied.

Fine.

Trelawney had a world of work ahead of her.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, 2019 sure happened, didn't it? I don't know about you, but for me it can best be described as "a dumpster, on fire, rolling down a hill" _but_ I got back up and took another shot at warping canon to suit my mental state. More yet to come.
> 
> Anyway, If you want to see what else I'm up to/confirm that the void has not yet consumed me, feel free to visit me on tumblr: bethany-sensei (main) or overlord-off-record (fiction).


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